LANDSCAPE
“There are distant worlds on our own planet.”
– David Morring
THE PAINE MASSIF – Early morning rays of sunlight striate the Paine Massif in Torres del Paine National Park as clouds build overhead.
GOD'S TREASURE – John Wayne, who had an affinity with Monument Valley, referred to it as "God's Treasure." This sunset from Hunts Mesa felt like I'd captured the quote photographically.
EARLY RISER – While driving into Sedona at sunrise, a single hot air balloon floated above the canyon rim. I jumped out of my vehicle, hiked to a nearby ridge and captured this perfect moment.
EDGE OF THE WORLD – Jenga Rock juts out from the Edge of the World, one of the most spectacular vistas overlooking Sedona. The monsoon clouds aligned perfectly with the teetering chimney.
ANASAZI BUTTE – A nightcap of copper light douses Monument Valley moments before the disappearance of dusk. Photo taken from Hunts Mesa.
PERITO MORENO – The power and force of the Perito Moreno Glacier is on display long before you ever see it. Gunshots of exploding ice shatter the silence as the 30-kilometer frozen river pushes into Lake Argentino at a rate of more than 2 meters a day. When you meet Perito Moreno face-to-face for the first time, you're struck with awe and fear imagining how anyone could cross such a mine field of crevasses. I wanted a wide shot that would captured the enormity, brutality and beauty of this geological butcher knife.
TOTEM POLE – No longer open to climbing, this dramatic rock spire is the tallest in the world at 400 feet.
GOLDEN THUMB – Hidden behind a campsite near Big Juniper is rock outcropping that provides the perfect platform for photography Prescott's most iconic feature.
THE END OF THE WORLD – The weather in Ushuaia, the southernmost town in South America, can cycle through four seasons in an hour, much less in a day. Clouds rolled in at dusk as we approached the port from the Beagle Channel.
CHURCH ROCK – Early morning rays ignite the spire of Church Rock outside Kayenta, Arizona.
MITTENS IN THE MORNING – The morning breaks behind the West and East Mittens of Monument Valley.
LOS CUERNOS – Los Cuernos (The Horns) in Torres del Paine, Chile are the overlords of the Rio Serrano valley. Terrifying and mesmerizing at the same time, these jagged saw-blade peaks command your eye and defy you to turn away. Knowing the moments to catch these peaks when they're not shrouded in a stratocumulus blanket are few and fleeting, I arose an hour before dawn and parked myself on the bank of the Serrano River. Without a tripod, I constructed a camera support from a piece of driftwood and river stones in order to shoot at a longer-exposure. The skies cooperated and the blue hour didn't disappoint.
TREE AT SANDSTONE BLUFF – (Int'l Photography Awards Official Selection) Overlooking the black lava fields of El Malpais National Monument stands a lone pine atop Sandstone Bluff.
FLAT TOP – A tabular iceberg drifts in the Bellinghausen Sea at dawn just off the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula.
WEST TEXAS WINDMILL – Evening shadows drape over the flatlands of the Texas panhandle.
THE HEART – Sunlight peers through a heart-shaped skylight carved in the roof of Upper Antelope Canyon.
ICEBERG IN NEKO HARBOUR - An iceberg drifts by a arrow-sharp pinnacle along the glaciated Antarctica coastline.
GRAND SUNSET – The Grand Teton silhouetted in fire-breathing orange.